YUM vs CMG vs CAVA Stock Comparison

Yum Brands, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Cava Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
YUM Yum Brands Inc
$149.51 +7.9% 1M +4.6% 1Y
Market cap
$40.80B
P/E
18.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.72B
Div. yield
1.98%
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
7 wins
CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc
$27.98 -10.7% 1M -31.9% 1Y
Market cap
$35.41B
P/E
25.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.42B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
1 win
CAVA Cava Group, Inc.
$51.86 +0.5% 1M -17.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.06B
P/E
99.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.22B
Div. yield
–
Quick-Service Restaurants Consumer Discretionary
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Yum Brands leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Yum Brands 7, Cava 1, Chipotle Mexican Grill 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionYUMCMGCAVALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $40.80B $35.41B $6.06B YUM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.5x 25.2x 99.0x YUM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.8x 26.1x 101.7x YUM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.3% +7.3% +12.2% CAVA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 25.4% 11.4% 5.0% YUM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 54.9% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.9x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.98% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +4.6% -31.9% -17.6% YUM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.5%/yr -4.7%/yr — YUM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.4% 44.8% 59.3% YUM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 64/100 58/100 CMG

Percentile Scorecard

YUMCMGCAVA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisYUMCMGCAVA
Valuation 20 #40 of 50 25 #38 of 50 2 #49 of 50
Growth 65 #17 of 47 41 #28 of 47 91 #5 of 47
Profitability 98 #2 of 46 91 #5 of 46 42 #27 of 46
Financial Health 16 #43 of 51 64 #19 of 51 96 #3 of 51
Shareholder Returns 63 #13 of 33 100 #1 of 33 –
Overall 52 64 58
  • YUM ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • CMG ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants
  • CAVA ranked among 53 companies in Restaurants

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodYUMCMGCAVASPY
1 month +7.9%-10.7%+0.5% -0.2%
3 months -0.6%-16.5%-20.2% +3.9%
6 months -4.4%-14.9%-43.0% +8.2%
Year to date -1.2%-24.4%-11.6% +12.9%
1 year +4.6%-31.9%-17.6% +12.3%
3 years +25.2%-25.9%+64.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.8%-9.5%+17.9% +23.3%
5 years +18.8%-21.3%— +67.9%
5 years, per year +3.5%-4.7%— +10.9%
10 years +143.6%+279.6%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.3%+14.3%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureYUMCMGCAVASPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.4%44.8%59.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.0%50.3%54.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.010.611.30 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.18-0.71-0.30 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -24.2%-59.9%-71.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.1%-31.9%-46.8% -1.2%
52-week high $168.16$41.06$97.39 $779.14
52-week low $135.80$27.51$43.59 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleYUMCMGCAVA
P/E now vs peer median 18.5xmedian 20.6x 25.2xmedian 20.6x 99.0xmedian 20.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 1.2x 2.8xmedian 1.2x 5.0xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 13.3x 15.8xmedian 13.3x 40.1xmedian 13.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 17.3x 22.6xmedian 17.3x —median 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median -5.7xmedian 3.1x 16.1xmedian 3.1x 7.2xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.07median 1.07 2.21median 1.07 2.63median 1.07

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsYUMCMGCAVA
Revenue $8.72B $12.42B $1.22B
Gross profit $5.94B – $301.99M
Operating income $2.70B $1.82B $66.42M
Net income $2.22B $1.42B $61.05M
Free cash flow $1.68B $1.57B –
EPS (diluted) $8.00 $1.11 $0.52
Cash & equivalents $674.00M $228.20M $322.76M
Total debt $12.28B – –
Shares (diluted) 277.00M 1.28B 118.38M
Enterprise value $37.68B $31.39B $4.46B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricYUMCMGCAVA
P/E 18.5x 25.2x 99.0x
P/FCF 24.3x 22.6x –
P/Operating cash flow 19.6x 15.2x –
P/S 4.7x 2.8x 5.0x
P/B -5.7x 16.1x 7.2x
P/Tangible book -5.2x 16.1x 7.2x
EV/EBITDA 17.8x 15.8x 40.1x
EV/EBIT 19.4x 19.1x 84.6x
EV/Revenue 6.0x 2.8x 4.6x
EV/FCF 31.2x 22.1x –
EV/Operating cash flow 25.2x 14.9x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.07 2.21 2.63

Growth

14 metrics
MetricYUMCMGCAVA
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.3% 7.3% 12.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 10.2% 23.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.5% – 10.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.3% – 27.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.5% -5.6% 25.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 8.3% 63.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 54.8% -7.9% -56.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 16.0% 8.4% 62.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 57.1% -2.8% -56.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 17.3% 11.4% 37.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.6% 11.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.6% 9.1% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 9.5% 7.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.5% 7.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricYUMCMGCAVA
Gross margin 68.1% – 24.8%
EBITDA margin 33.7% 17.7% 11.5%
Operating margin 31.0% 14.7% 5.5%
Pretax margin 25.2% 15.0% 6.7%
Net margin 25.4% 11.4% 5.0%
FCF margin 19.3% 12.6% –
Operating cash flow margin 23.9% 18.7% –
Return on equity – 61.6% 7.5%
Return on assets 26.2% 16.1% 4.3%
Return on invested capital 54.9% – –
Return on capital employed 65.1% 24.2% 5.4%
Asset turnover 1.0x 1.4x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 1.6x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricYUMCMGCAVA
Debt / assets 141.4% – –
Debt / equity -1.7x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 3.9x – –
Debt / FCF 7.3x – –
Liabilities / assets 181.9% 75.2% 43.9%
Equity / assets -81.9% 24.8% 56.1%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 0.6x 0.7x 2.5x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.6x 2.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 2.3x
Altman Z-score 2.24 5.21 6.51

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricYUMCMGCAVA
Dividend yield 2.0% – –
Net buyback yield 2.2% 7.9% –
Shareholder yield 4.2% 7.9% –
Payout ratio (earnings) 36.4% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 48.1% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.8% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.9% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusYUMCMGCAVA
Forward P/E 23.8xFY2026 26.1xFY2026 101.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.29FY2026 $1.07FY2026 $0.51FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 -8.5%FY2026 -5.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.7% +19.6% +49.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.06BFY2026 $13.54BFY2026 $1.43BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.3%FY2026 +13.5%FY2026 +20.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.0% +9.7% +31.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersYUMCMGCAVA
Held by institutions 88.7% 89.5% 89.4%
Institutions holding 1,435 1,197 541
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.6% +0.3% -6.7%
Institutions buying 626 510 245
Institutions selling 488 527 209
Buyers to sellers 1.28 0.97 1.17

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

YUMCMGCAVA
YUM 1.00 0.35 0.24
CMG 0.35 1.00 0.51
CAVA 0.24 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, YUM, CMG and CAVA?

Yum Brands (YUM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Yum Brands (YUM) $40.80B, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) $35.41B, Cava (CAVA) $6.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, YUM, CMG and CAVA?

Yum Brands (YUM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Yum Brands (YUM) 18.5x, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 25.2x, Cava (CAVA) 99.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Yum Brands (YUM) is cheapest (Yum Brands (YUM) 23.8x, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 26.1x, Cava (CAVA) 101.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cava (CAVA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Yum Brands (YUM) +10.3%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +7.3%, Cava (CAVA) +12.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Yum Brands (YUM) has the highest net margin (Yum Brands (YUM) 25.4%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 11.4%, Cava (CAVA) 5.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Yum Brands (YUM) returned the most: Yum Brands (YUM) +4.6%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -31.9%, Cava (CAVA) -17.6%. Over five years, Yum Brands (YUM) compounded fastest (Yum Brands (YUM) +3.5%/yr, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -4.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Yum Brands (YUM) 1.98%. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and Cava (CAVA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Yum Brands (YUM) has been the steadiest (Yum Brands (YUM) 25.4%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) 44.8%, Cava (CAVA) 59.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, YUM, CMG and CAVA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Yum Brands (YUM) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.